Fallen Star
by KremKid Katalogue
Summary: "How did I get here? Do you know?" Meta Knight stiffened. He'd been hoping he would be able to avoid this, but something in his brain seemed to have always known that it would have to happen eventually. "Not really, but I'll tell you what I do know."
1. The Crash

**Prologue**

Meta Knight knew that he should probably be enjoying himself while he still could, but the dominating part of his brain wouldn't let it happen. He was no longer used to the idea of true peace, and the current spell of quiet made him uneasy, like the calm before a storm.

It was this unrest that put him outside on a balcony of Castle Dedede under the false pretense of getting some air. In truth, the warrior had been coming out to this balcony for days to watch the night sky, searching...

Waiting...

"There you are!"

He was brought out of his thoughts by a cheerful, boyish voice and turned to see Kirby jogging toward him with a smile on his face. The kid had grown a lot in the time that Meta Knight had known him; it had reached the point where Kirby was almost fully mature and could speak in full sentences with no impediment even if he still hadn't changed very much physically. He had, however, gotten somewhat bigger and was easily larger than the midget mentor before him. Right now, he was wearing a fighter's headband that showed he had been with Knuckle Joe and apparently making a conscious effort to not squeak while he walked.

When he reached Meta Knight, Kirby's smile faded a little as he looked to the stars the older warrior had just been gazing at.

"Still looking for That?" he asked, saying 'that' as though it were a title of some kind.

"It's always out there, Kirby," Meta Knight responded, turning back to face the open space above them. "And It's going to come back. It's a constant threat as long as Dark Matter fills the Universe."

Kirby nodded. "Like Nightmare?" he asked.

"Yes, but I really don't think we have to worry about Him for a while. After all, He must have been desperate to attack a Dream Spring directly, not to mention weak to blow up the moon within an hour."

Kirby nodded again, before turning back to the knight. "For a place like Dream Land, it seems like we have to worry about demonic takeovers a lot."

Meta Knight smirked under his mask and answered, "Kirby, you've lived here for almost all of your life, and you're _just now_ catching on to that? As a land of dreams, yes, everything's ungodly."

Kirby thought about this before asking again, "I'm not from here, am I?"

The knight mulled this over before deciding it was safe to answer, "No. Neither of us is. By now, hardly anyone here is."

"Well, how did I get here? Do you know?"

Meta Knight stiffened. He'd been hoping he would be able to avoid this, but something in his brain seemed to have always known that it would have to happen eventually. With this in mind, he sighed and turned to the kid, who waited with bated breath.

"Not really," he said finally, "but I'll tell you what I do know."

* * *

><p><strong>[AN: Hello, everyone! Just to let you know, this is my first fan fiction. To be published. I figured Kirby was as good a franchise as any to start with, nice and simple. This will probably be a threeshot, so I'll see you at the end. In the meantime, drop me a review!]**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 1: The Crash<strong>

Meta Knight glared, deadpan, at the message he'd just received before crumpling it nonchalantly and half-heartedly tossing it over his shoulder. "Well," he decided, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "nice to know that I was recovering for nothing."

In the back of his mind, however, he knew he really shouldn't be upset. After all, the war was over and the galaxy was no longer in danger. Plus, he happened to be in a designated safe haven that he'd gotten used to. Sure, things were a little weird, but hey, the place was actually _called_ Dream Land, and, well, dreams tended to be a little weird.

Still, he'd been sent here to recover from an injury he'd gotten months ago, and he had been promised that he would be back in the field as soon as his recovery was complete. Through the miraculous power of the Dream Spring, it was as though he'd never been injured – only for his army to not need his services anymore anyway. That was a little crappy of them, he thought.

But no matter – with the Second Galaxy War at an end, he and his squadron now had the right to relax, and there was really no better place to do it than Pop Star. After all, Meta Knight had nowhere better to go. Heck, he wasn't even sure if his home planet even existed anymore. It didn't have a Dream Spring like the planets in this solar system did. Not to his knowledge, anyway.

His disdainful tone had brought Sword Knight over. "Sorry, Sir?" he requested.

"We're done," the older knight answered. "The war is over. We can just stay here for the rest of our lives."

Sword looked surprised, then ecstatic, and replied, "Awesome! We can build new lives here! Hey," he said, turning to the rest of the team, "everyone, no more fighting! Yeah!"

This news was met with whoops of mild cheer. Everybody was rather too tired to respond properly. Javelin Knight was even asleep. Still, their commanding officer couldn't help but smile.

"Yeah. I'm..." Meta Knight said slowly, "gonna go outside."

* * *

><p>Frankly, Meta Knight had been surprised that King Dedede had let him and his squadron reside in the king's castle, but he was thankful nonetheless. Perhaps the king simply didn't want any trouble where a Galaxy Soldier was concerned, or maybe, as the case was, he had been hoping for a military advantage to come from it should the war end early or the knight simply quit. The knight noted that becoming a leading personal member of the king's army would quickly put him and the others in a position of employment security and hadn't hesitated to ask for the job, a request to which the king happily obliged.<p>

With that out of the way, he strolled over to a small brook on the edge of Whispy's Woods and sat. In his time here, Meta Knight felt drawn to this brook, somehow. He almost felt like it had a connection to the Dream Spring in some way. Plus, he liked the Woods in a sense. In the times when he'd caught their conversation, he'd recently felt bold enough to join in and had made pleasant acquaintances with the trees, even if they were somewhat haughty. He would sit at the brook, leaning against one of the few trees who had decided that it didn't really mind being used as a chair back, and just listen. When the day was especially hot, he would almost think he heard the brook speaking just before falling asleep. This was usually the time when Sword Knight and Blade Knight would come find him there and ask for him back at the castle. Indeed, shortly after drifting off today, he heard their voices calling for him.

"Hey, Sir," Blade said, striding up with Sword close behind. "So the war's done, but Sword and I and the rest of the Meta-Knights are still doing combat practice just in case we still need to do something here."

Meta Knight blinked drowsily, still not fully awake, as he processed this information. Finally, he sat up and stretched.

"Okay," he half-yawned, "I'll come supervise you. Good thinking, by the way. One never can be too careful, after all."

After following the two of them back, however, the practice proved just how right he was by way of Mace Knight somehow managing to seriously damage Axe Knight's headgear within ten minutes, thus drawing the training session to an early close. That night, with nothing better to do, the squadron leader headed out to his bedroom balcony to do some stargazing.

The stars gave Meta Knight a sense of familiarity, having learned some of the constellations on his home planet and being surprised to find that Pop Star saw some of them from almost the exact same angles. There was the Archer, the Rider and Mount, and – one of his favorites – the Lancer. The Lancer was actually an age-old nebula that seemed to take the appearance of a winged, masked warrior wielding a spear and shield – though a few stars were visible in it.

The stars themselves, though, were what really urged Meta Knight to peer toward them tonight. Sometimes he just couldn't help but watch and wonder how other planets were doing in their solar systems, especially now with Nightmare gone. And sometimes he would watch for any spacecraft that would come to take him and his squadron back to the battlefield, a speck of light that not only moved among its immobile cohabitants, but also seemed to grow larger as it sped toward the small patch of stardust that held Dream Land, wasting no time in locating its quarry, searching...

Waiting...

_...!_

Meta Knight lifted his head up and stared intently at the patch of sky where he'd seen it – where he saw it still. Very clearly, he saw a speck of light that seemed to grow larger, a tail trailing behind it, as it moved about the dark blue expanse above. Had his imagination and concern taken its toll? No, it was still there, still heading for Pop Star fast.

The knight blinked several times, telling himself that it was probably nothing to worry about. A meteor, perhaps; yes, that must be it. He'd been worked up over the war for too long and was worrying about a simple meteor that would probably fry before impact and have no lasting effect.

But the minutes ticked on, and he knew that a meteor would have certainly disintegrated by now. It didn't help that the thing was growing larger unnervingly rapidly and was clearly headed directly for Dream Land.

Frantic, Meta Knight ran off the balcony, through his bedroom, and into the castle halls, looking and calling for Sword, Blade – anyone in his squadron. He had to warn somebody, and they were the first people he trusted. He didn't really find them as much as run into them, nearly bowling Sword over and startling Blade so that she yelped and fell backwards. He quickly got up from Sword Knight and looked around to see where they were. Near the training grounds. That was good, that was near his room.

"Dear Lord, Sir, what's wrong?" Sword demanded as he pushed himself off the ground and proceeded to help Blade pull herself up. "What's gotten into you?"

"There's a spacecraft...something...outside...coming down fast...gonna crash...," their leader explained as he tried to catch his breath and gestured toward his bedroom, to the balcony where he'd seen it.

Sword blinked and adopted what Meta Knight guessed was supposed to be a sympathetic look – it was hard to tell with the helmet. "Sir, the war was exhausting for everyone. But now we're done. You don't have to worry about this."

A ripple of anger bubbled under Meta Knight's confusion and panic. What, did his own minions think he was senile? "But I saw it! It's going way too fast and it's gonna crash we don't – _Woah!_"

A sudden, violent tremor cut him off as he fell, face first, onto the floor accompanied by a deafening _Boom!_ When he lifted his face up, he saw that Sword and Blade had been able to steady themselves against the wall, looking stunned.

Meta Knight lifted himself up as quickly as he could and ran back to his bedroom, Sword and Blade hot on his heels. He saw other castle residents out in the halls, confused and wondering what in the world was going on, but he ignored them. He threw his bedroom door open and sprinted back onto his balcony.

He didn't look at the sky for answers, though.

To his right he saw very clearly a billowing cloud of smoke rising into the air, dense enough to block out the stars. A small ember of orange, fiery light glowed at its base. Worse still, he noticed as his minions caught up to him, the ember laid under a large, uneven area from which angry, confused voices could be heard shouting indistinctly as the mass holding the ember swayed restlessly.

Whatever it was had crashed into Whispy's Woods.


	2. The News

**[A/N: Whoa, what am I doing here? Also, I meant to have this up on Wednesday. I was distracted by Let's Plays. I suck.**

**Anyway, big thanks to Meta-If for reviewing and the pointers. Looking back, I guess the layout of Part 1 was a little confusing. I've tidied it up a little now, but to clarify: the very beginning, before the A/N, is a prologue of sorts set sometime in the future and everything after the A/N is all in one day many years ago, before the Kirby series even officially started with Kirby's Dreamland. The main part is the third-person view of the story that Meta Knight is telling Kirby in the future, because I'm like that.**

**Also, this story isn't in the anime continuity. This is in "game continuity with some elements taken from the anime." Hopefully that'll be made a little more clear in the next chapters.**

**(Note: I didn't plan the middle part here as fully as the beginning and ending. I think it shows.)]**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 2: The News<strong>

"I don't_ CARE _if you think it's a_ 'personal issue!' _It's in_ MY _kingdom, so it's_ MY _problem! _Now let me through!_"

It was still nighttime, but one really couldn't tell by the sky. Indeed, the impact was such that it attracted the attention of Mr. Bright, who now hung above the edge of the scene alongside Mr. Shine, his lunar companion, tingeing the area overhead a burnt, reddish orange. Scarcely two hours had passed since the thing had made its rough landing among the trees, but now that everyone in Castle Dedede and the surrounding villages had finished being frenzied, confused, and disoriented, King Dedede had set off toward the Woods accompanied by the Meta-Knights and a personal entourage of Waddle Dees. An unofficial, additional audience of local Waddle Dees, Waddle Doos, Bronto Burts and the like stood nearby at a tentative distance from the royal party.

The uninvited didn't get as good of a view as some of them might have liked, but Meta Knight thought that they really weren't missing out on much. The Woods, secretive and unbending as ever, were refusing to let anyone see exactly what had happened and gave no details whatsoever. This, naturally, did not sit well with the king, but for once he didn't think violence was the answer. That probably had more to do with the obviousness of the event than anything else, but the trees didn't care. They weren't revealing any of their secrets, not even if they could concern the other Dream Landers.

"We cannot allow that," a tree in front of Dedede said. "It is the Woods who must immediately deal with it. Don't strain yourselves."

"We Woods are more than capable. Now take your leave," put in another, younger looking tree.

As Dedede retorted, Meta Knight took a couple hesitant steps forward and lifted his mask to rest on his scalp, squinting to get a good look at the giant piece of what he could only assume was debris. One of the trees noticed, however, and shifted to block his line of sight. Scowling, he stepped back and slid his mask back into place.

"– and you can't keep it secret forever, you can count on that!" The trees only glared in response to this, but Dedede seemed satisfied.

The first tree spoke up again, "We do _not_ require your services. We _will_ take care of this on our own. Do _not_ concern yourselves."

Dedede only "Hmph!"ed.

"Well – is Whispy okay, at least?" Trident Knight bothered to inquire, referring to the tree that was the stem, root, and heart of the entire Woods.

The first tree replied again, "Yes, Lord Whispy is unharmed."

"What about the animals?" interjected Mace Knight.

"They are fine," a third tree answered. "There is nothing over which to concern yourselves. This is a matter of the Woods, and the Woods shall see it sorted."

Dedede grimaced then turned to a Waddle Dee that sported a blue bandanna on its head. "Pack it up," he ordered. "Let's get some sleep."

The Waddle Dee saluted and gave a signal to its brethren, and the public backed off for the royal audience to pass. Mr. Bright retreated, too, and Mr. Shine returned to his former position, coloring the sky a thick, bluish black flecked with white once more. Meta Knight glared at the forest for a second before following his companions.

"Well, now what?" Axe Knight bluntly put forward.

"Nothing," his leader responded. "It's none of our business now, anyway. You saw them. They're not letting anyone in."

"But you _saw_ it!" Sword half-shouted. A stray Waddle Dee stopped and stared at them, prompting Blade to slap her fellow knight.

"I didn't see what it _was_," their commanding officer explained, trying not to sound defensive. "It could have been a robot for all I know. Not that it matters now."

Blade turned to face him. "Sir, I thought you said it was a spacecraft."

_Crap,_ thought Meta Knight. _I did, didn't I?_ "I panicked, that's all. Just drop it. That means you, too," he added to the Waddle Dee, who was still gazing intently at the seven of them. The Waddle Dee blinked and ran off to catch up with its brethren.

"You sure the Woods will be all right?" asked Javelin Knight from atop Mace's helmet.

"The Woods are too proud for their own good," Meta Knight responded, "but if they say they can handle it, they probably can."

Javelin seemed satisfied, and the knights continued their walk in silence until they were several yards away from the castle.

"You did say it was a spacecraft, Sir," Sword whispered to his superior.

Meta Knight stared daggers at his subordinate. Why were his minions so concerned about what he _thought_ he saw? It was the Woods' business now, they probably would never get to find out any more about it, and that was that. Why did they seem to think he was withholding information?

"Forget about it, okay? I was just saying what I thought I saw, I don't _know_ any more about it than you do, so stop asking!" He tried to whisper, but it was hard with the frustration in his voice.

Sword still looked worried, like he didn't buy it, but he didn't say anything more, so Meta Knight considered the matter settled.

Until the castle doors opened.

It seemed as though everyone who hadn't been at the Woods with Dedede had been waiting right inside the entrance for his return. Once more the panicked, confused shouting filled the air and the higher-ups had to neutralize the situation.

At first, the uninformed residents shot all of their questions at King Dedede, but he waved them all off saying he was going back to bed and they subsided after a quick, additional warning from the Bandanna Dee. Unfortunately, they then decided to round on the Meta-Knights, startling all of them into baffled gaping. Javelin Knight even fell off of Mace's helmet and had to get up quickly to avoid being trampled.

"Is it true what they say about another visitor from another planet?" a Bio Spark hanging onto Trident Knight's arm demanded.

"I heard the Woods are dying!" Simirror squealed, yanking Mace down to her eye level.

"Are we at _war!_" Sir Kibble yelled into Axe's face. Axe forcibly shoved him aside.

It was Blade Knight who restored an order of sorts. "Everybody, _calm down! One at a time, we're tired!_"

The other servants subsided, giving the seven knights space and allowing Blade to continue, "Now. I realize this has been stressful and confusing and...shocking for everyone. But it's late, and we need some sleep. So please, let us through."

"But _we_ want answers!" shouted Bugzzy. The others nodded and murmured in agreement.

"Ask Sir Meta Knight," Sword offered. He ignored his leader glaring at him in disbelief as he went on. "He saw it firsthand, out on a balcony. He can tell you."

Everyone turned to Meta Knight. "Hey! There's nothing to tell! All I saw was something in the sky about to crash into Dream Land!"

"And?"

The knight stared blankly at the Waddle Doo that had asked this question. He blinked several times before answering, "Nothing! That's it! I ran out to tell everybody before I got a chance to see what it was! We're just lucky it didn't hit the castle!"

"Sir, you _did_ say it was a spacecraft, though –!"

"I know what I said!" Meta Knight shouted, cutting Sword off. "Look, all I know for certain is that it was something with either a heat shield or magic that kept it from sizzling in the atmosphere, and now it's the Woods' problem, so we can just _drop it and leave it alone._"

The room was silent as Meta Knight scowled at all of the present party. Then, without another word, he wrapped himself up in his cape and took his leave, headed directly for his bedroom. He was going to close his balcony doors now, he'd make sure of it.

"Sir! Sir, wait!"

He angrily turned to see Sword and Blade jogging toward him and grimaced under his mask. "Now what?"

"Sir, there's no need to get upset –" Blade began, but her superior cut her off.

"Why does it matter what I saw? I didn't get a good enough look at it, so we can't be positive about it! It's not our problem anymore, anyway!"

"But Sir – that's just it though! What if it _does_ become our problem?"

Her commanding officer just stared at her, bewildered. There was an urgency in her voice that seemed to suggest a potential danger, but Meta Knight couldn't see it.

"Sir," Sword started. "Doesn't this all seem just a little suspicious? I mean, we get our official order of dismissal, and not twelve hours later, some mysterious space object crashes into our recovery site?"

The older knight stared straight ahead of him as he processed this. That...actually made some sense. Nightmare definitely would do that if He could, and Meta Knight couldn't see why He wouldn't be able. It certainly would have caught them off guard had the attack been successful. And yet...

"I'm...not sure how _I_ didn't think of that. And I'm _always_ paranoid. So how..." he trailed off.

The Dream Spring. It had to be. Its waters were wonderful and always put him in a good mood. It had been euphoric, almost. He wouldn't be surprised if direct contact with it had the side effect of giving someone a rosier view of things. Not in the slightest, now he thought about it.

He looked back up at Sword and Blade. He couldn't tell _them_ that, though. That might make them even more suspicious, and, for once, Meta Knight didn't see the need to be.

"Never mind," he continued. "Anyway, that _is_ a valid concern."

"What do you think we should do then?" asked Sword.

"We'll worry about it if it becomes a problem and _not_ beforehand."

His underlings stared in shock at him. "But _Sir_ –!" Blade half-shouted. "If it _does_ –!"

"Then we can worry. Give our fellow soldiers the benefit of a doubt. Besides," he turned away to go back to bed, "I would think that a servant of Nightmare would have better aim."

And with that, he walked away, leaving his companions silent behind him. So maybe it wasn't _all_ the Dream Spring. He could still think clearly enough.

Back in his room, Meta Knight gave the stars one last glance before closing off his balcony. He really needed some sleep.


	3. The Find

**Chapter 3: The Find**

Being a veteran turned out not to be nearly as glorious as Meta Knight had once hoped it would be. After the excitement of battle and, indeed, the anticipation of going back into battle, none of the Meta-Knights was very satisfied with their new peace. They were all restless, and it didn't help that the only remotely interesting thing that had happened since their dismissal was the crash they didn't get to have any more information about.

It was this restlessness that led them to continue construction on the _Halberd_ despite there being no need. It was going to be a fine airship after all, and it seemed a shame to let it go to waste. Who knew? Perhaps they would find some use for it eventually. At least, that was what the squadron wished.

For all of his trouble, though, Meta Knight himself was thoroughly despising retirement, though he was now positive that the Dream Spring had dulled his paranoia earlier. After little more than a week of not using it, he was already starting to feel the difference and did indeed think the crash suspicious, but he still couldn't see what Nightmare might have had to do with it. Unfortunately, that was also all he could think about, seeing as Dream Land, as a designated safe haven, had hardly any serious problems otherwise. (Less than it would have in the future, at any rate, but Meta Knight had no way of knowing that.) It reached a point where he almost wished something terrible _would_ happen, just so he wouldn't have to stay so freaking _bored_. Indeed, his bad mood was slowly spreading to the rest of the team, which didn't help matters in the slightest.

It was the desire to keep his troop's spirits up that led him to continue spending time near that brook at the edge of Whispy's Woods. Well, partially that, partially to channel his displeasure onto the brook, that accursed tributary of the Dream Spring. The trees, for the most part, ignored him, but that was just as well. He didn't really want to speak to them. He would only want to ask about the crash, and they certainly wouldn't tell.

* * *

><p>It was late in the evening now, exactly seven days after the Meta-Knights' official dismissal. It was also raining, but that had been happening continually for the past week: Kracko had missed out on the initial frenzy caused by the crash, so he had taken to hovering above the Woods trying to locate the site. He was getting fairly agitated, too, if the sheer intensity of the storm was any indication. Meta Knight didn't really want to rush back to the castle in the rain, so he had stayed at his personal spot for a few hours now, waiting for Kracko to go away, but the storm cloud didn't seem to be letting up any time soon. If the brook had the ability to speak, it certainly wouldn't have been saying anything intelligible, it was so overflowed. The trees grumbled indistinctly behind him, but he pretended not to notice.<p>

So he sat there, grimacing under his mask. He now felt that the other Dream Landers deserved more information on whatever the Woods' were keeping from them, but he said nothing. Instead, he shut his eyes tight, trying to block everything out, the brook, the rain, the trees – everything was on his nerves. He wished he had something else to think about, almost that he was having a very boring dream he would soon wake up from to find that he was still fighting with the Meta-Knights and the rest of the Galaxy Soldiers, that Nightmare was still a known threat. If something didn't happen soon to put all of his training to good use –

Meta Knight suddenly sat bolt upright and opened his eyes, straining to hear something other than the tempest Kracko was bringing down. He could have sworn he had just heard a _cry_ of some kind – from inside the Woods.

He turned where he sat toward the Woods, peering inward, but the glares he received were enough to let him know he wasn't allowed to investigate. He turned back, staring straight ahead of him, wondering if he was really so desperate to be back in action he'd started hearing things. After all, he reasoned, how would he really be able to hear anything under Kracko's rage?

He suddenly stood up and turned once more – he'd heard it _again._ Louder this time. _Something_ in there sounded like it was in need.

Unfortunately, as he tried to get a closer look into the forest, the trees leaned in to obscure his view. "I don't know what you think you're doing, but _stop_ it," one of them said.

Meta Knight scowled but said nothing, and so resumed his former position. Maybe it was nothing, but if he heard it again...

_-!_

There was no denying it this time: he'd _definitely_ heard what sounded unmistakably like a wordless wail for help. In a flash, Meta Knight was on his feet again and rushing into the Woods.

Only to be rather roughly pushed back by a branch.

He got back up, indignant, and shouted, "Hey! What was _that_ for?"

"Whatever it is that you seek in our territory isn't your concern, _especially_ not the thing that landed last week," a young tree answered.

"There's someone in there that needs help! I heard it! Let me through!" Meta Knight argued, adamant. After being free from the Dream Spring, he was _not_ backing down so easily this time.

"We will take care of it," rebuked an older tree.

Meta Knight narrowed his eyes, glaring through the slit of his mask. "It needs taking care of _now!_" he yelled, his hand flying to Galaxia's hilt as he did so.

The trees looked at him with purest shock and loathing before one of them spoke up: "You really _don't_ want to do anything as rash as _that_. You _don't_ want us as your enemy, soldier."

Slowly, the knight lessened his glare and let go of Galaxia. No, he didn't want to make enemies of the Woods. Of course not. Still...

_WHOOSH!_

It took the Woods several seconds to understand what was going on, for it had happened so quickly they barely had had time to process it: Meta Knight had unfolded his leathery bat-like wings and set off at top speed through the treetops, trying to locate the source of the noise. Of course, Kracko's gale didn't make it very easy, nor did the Woods once they finally caught on and started lashing out at him, but whatever it was continued to wail like a wounded animal.

So he followed it. And eventually stopped when he thought he lost it. No, he hadn't lost it; he could still hear it, it was just much more subdued. How odd.

Nonetheless, he continued to follow the sound on foot, as the trees had given up trying to stop him at this point, (He kept his wings out just in case.) and soon came to the heavily wooded edge of a clearing. He was certain he saw a large shape wedged into the ground and a smaller shape next to it that seemed to be shaking slightly. He stepped forward, lifting his mask to rest on his scalp to get a better look at the smaller thing. Then his eyes went wide.

It was a member of his own kind.

The poor thing was tiny, almost infantile. Its feet were red, its body was a very light shade of pink, and it was just sitting there, eyes squeezed shut, shivering in the rain underneath what little shelter was offered by a small, one-man Star Cruiser barely larger than a Warp Star – that was what was wedged into the ground. It was now apparent to Meta Knight that the kid had been crying – sobbing.

Meta Knight was then overcome by a blind, Samaritan desire to help the child. He ran over to it and lifted one of his wings over its head to better shelter it from the rain, gently patting its head. When the child noticed, it turned its face up to him, showing him its light blue eyes, and tottered forward to bury its face in his side.

"Hey, it's okay." Meta Knight barely recognized his own voice whispering comfortingly to the child. "It's alright now. What are you doing here?"

It was then that he looked up and saw a typed message blinking on the monitor in the Star Cruiser's cockpit. Squinting, he leaned forward to read it.

_To whom it may concern:_

_So that he may not come to any harm in the war against Nightmare, we have sent our son, Kirben, to the nearest designated safe haven. It is our hope that he reaches it safely. Please see to it that our son is taken good care of in our absence._

_Godspeed to the Galaxy Soldiers,  
><em>_Signed,_

_Reba and Kinlen_

Meta Knight read the note without fully taking it in several times before it seemed to trigger something in his memory. He then looked around the clearing, now noticing how it sloped downward toward the point of the Star Cruiser that was stuck in the ground and what seemed to be rather rough-edged holes where it looked like trees were ripped out by their roots. At one edge of the clearing, the leafy canopy even looked as though it had been burnt away by something from above. The trees noticed him observing and glared sinisterly. He looked back at the child sobbing into his armor.

Then something clicked into place in his brain.

So Nightmare _did_ have something to do with the crash last week...

"Kirben, huh?" he asked the kid. Kirben looked back up at him at the sound of his name being called and his face became completely blank, as though dazed. Meta Knight continued to pet Kirben's head soothingly and tried to smile. "Why are you hiding under your Star? Why can't you be under the trees?"

Overhead, Kracko let loose a blinding flash of lightning and a particularly menacing rumble of thunder, making Kirben squeak and bury his face in Meta Knight's side once more, but not before the knight saw his face in full detail.

The kid was covered in scrapes and bruises. It was surprising that they weren't very visible in the usually dusky evening, but they were certainly noticeable now that the veteran Galaxy Soldier knew they were there. One bruise under his shoulder was nearly black, and a couple of cuts still oozed little shining droplets of blood.

Meta Knight stared in numb shock and disbelief. What had that kid been _doing?_ How in the _world_ did he get like _this!_

For answers, the knight turned back to the trees. "How did this happen? Why doesn't he have shelter? What beat him up so badly?"

"He disturbed the Woods," answered one of them. "This is his justice."

The soldier frowned. "But you couldn't have left him _one_ dead tree to take shelter under?" He knew that the trees didn't like to shelter strangers, but still...

"We _must_ uproot our dead," replied an older one. "That has been law for all of the Woods' existence."

"That's still not a good enough answer," Meta Knight retorted. "Why doesn't he have shelter?"

"He is quite unwelcome."

The knight processed this somewhat slowly before glaring at the trees with mingled rage and horror.

"_YOU did this to him?"_

"As we have said," the older tree spoke again, "he disturbed the Woods. This is his justice."

"_He's just a BABY! What is WRONG with you?"_

The Woods appeared rather shocked at this outburst. They were aware that not everyone agreed with their laws, but they had never been questioned before, and certainly not with such disgust. But they couldn't just _pound_ a _child_ like that! Meta Knight couldn't allow this to go on!

"_He didn't KNOW what he was doing! That's just SICK! And you know WHAT?"_

There was a very hostile pause. Kracko raged above. Meta Knight found his normal voice again.

"I'm going to take him off your hands if that's what's in store for him otherwise." Regaining his composure, he scooped Kirben into his arms and took a few bold steps forward. "Now show me the way out."

The trees stared at him gravely, appalled at his audacity.

"Didn't you hear me? Show me the way out!" Meta Knight repeated.

A tree that hadn't spoken yet answered, "You are no longer our ally. Why should we comply?"

The knight glared daggers at the tree and responded, "Because wouldn't you rather be shot of both of us?"

The trees exchanged glances but said nothing.

"Now show me the way out."

They looked back at him, disgruntled, but nonetheless shifted aside to allow the two puffballs to pass through. Meta Knight looked back down at Kirben one last time and quickly brushed some dirt off of him before marching forward, taking the child with him.

* * *

><p>Clearly, seeing reason in the veteran's words did make the Woods realize he could help with their problem, but that didn't mean that they had to like it. Each tree had spread hostility to what seemed like the entire forest, and together, they had come up with the idea to inconvenience the Galaxy Soldier by giving him a heavily wooded path out that wound and twisted itself far more often than was necessary, so that by the time Meta Knight and Kirben finally got out of the Woods, Kracko had finally given up his search and it was very much nighttime. Meta Knight inwardly cursed the Woods, but at least, he thought, it was dry outside, and the two of them were out safely.<p>

He looked back at Kirben. The child was no longer crying, but had fallen asleep. There was no more need to have his wings out, so the knight folded them back into his cape and wrapped the kid up in that. It wasn't exactly warm out, after all, and he now realized that the boy had not had proper shelter for a week. He probably hadn't had food or water either. He needed help.

Meta Knight looked around them and noticed that he couldn't see Castle Dedede at all. He wasn't surprised, but he was somewhat irritated. Though, he didn't really think he wanted the castle residents to know about Kirben. He _did_ crash into their land, after all. Dedede would probably especially take offense with _his_ temper.

Besides, the Knight wanted the little ball of innocence safe, but he had had no experience with children and craved action constantly. He knew he couldn't raise the kid himself. He needed to find someone who could.

So he started walking, and soon he came upon what he initially thought was a landscape oddity, but upon closer inspection turned out to be a village of small, white domes. Waddle Dees lived here, he knew. He had seen them in such domes several times when he was using the Dream Spring. They could provide a comfortable home for Kirben.

He smiled down at the child and approached one of the domes, knocking thrice on its door. A light brown Waddle Dee with a ribbon on its head answered and looked at him curiously, but Meta Knight spoke first.

"Do you have room for a kid in your home?"

The Waddle Dee blinked a couple times. "Why do you ask?" she inquired.

In response, Meta Knight slowly uncovered Kirben and showed him to her. She stared at the child, apparently lost for words.

"This is what crashed in the Woods last week."

The Waddle Dee looked back at Meta Knight, eyes wide, but, again, Meta Knight decided not to give her a chance to speak.

"I can't tell you how he got here, but he needs food, he needs water, and he needs medical attention. The Woods didn't exactly like him very much." He said this while handing her the child.

She never took her eyes off the boy as she accepted him into her stubby arms, but stared with mingled concern and disbelief at his wounds. "How did this happen to him?"

"The Woods didn't like him very much," repeated the knight.

"Oh, poor thing... Where are his parents?"

"I...don't know," the warrior answered lamely, only realizing that he truly did not know the answer to this question as he said it. Reba and Kinlen might not even still be alive. Meta Knight had no idea exactly how hard his home planet was hit by the war with Nightmare; were they even _on_ their home planet when they sent their son out to Dream Land? If not, what planet _had_ they been on for Dream Land to be the closest safe haven? He probably would never know.

As he thought about this, the Waddle Dee cradled the boy with pity in her eyes and finally looked back at Meta Knight. "Yes, I can take him."

Meta Knight sighed, relieved. Then, with his hands free again, he slid his mask back over his face, said a brief thanks to the Waddle Dee, and started to walk away (and try to find Castle Dedede again) when she called back after him, "Wait!"

He turned, puzzled. She continued, "Does he have a name?"

Meta Knight thought about this. Then he thought about what Sword and Blade had said a week before about Nightmare becoming their problem again. Even if He really was gone for good, Meta Knight didn't want to take any more chances now that he wasn't using the Dream Spring anymore. Or – here was his paranoia back again – if the kid was somehow important, he didn't want Nightmare tracking the boy down at such a young age. He hoped it would be enough, and if this wasn't the right choice, then at least he could rest knowing that the whole deal with the crash was finally put to bed.

So, smiling under his mask, Meta Knight gave a final wave goodbye as he answered.

"Yes - Kirby!"

* * *

><p><strong>[AN: _Hello,_ super-late update. Same lame excuse, I'm horrible, I know. But I didn't forget about this!**

**Also, to paraphrase my art teacher, Happy Early Hanukkwanzaamas! (FYI: December + [Judaism + African-Americanism + Christianity] x Political correctness = Hanukkwanzaamas) I personally am Christian, but I can't make so broad a generalization as "Happy Early Christmas!" That would be _far_ too singulatory of me... /endsarcasm**

**And there will be another chapter. Yes, I lied. It'll be an epilogue set back in the "sometime in the future" setting in the prologue, with Meta Knight and Grown-Up!Kirby. I hope the story itself is less confusing now that all of the neccessary is up.**

**And before anyone asks, Reba and Kinlen aren't important, they're just random names I decided to give Kirby's parents. My name for Meta Knight is Mendan. For the purposes of my personal continuity, pretend that the naming conventions of Kirby's species are similar to that of hobbits or something.**

**Please leave reviews! I crave feedback! And don't expect the epilogue to be up before December is out, because my brother is moving back into my room (formerly his room) when he comes home for Christmas, so I won't have as much private access to my computer. So Happy New Year in advance!**

**More notes on the thought process behind this story will be at the end of the epilogue. Till then!]**


	4. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

"I checked up on you once or twice after that, and you seemed to be doing alright with the Waddle Dees. So I left you with them, and I did not see you again for a very long time."

Meta Knight paused, turned back to Kirby, and nearly had to stop himself from laughing out loud at the expression on his face. His eyes were wide with shock and his mouth seemed to have forgotten how to stay shut. Meta Knight hadn't seen Kirby's face look _that_ dumbfounded since the pink terror had first tried to summon NOVA.

"And now look how far we've come," the knight finished.

Whatever answer Kirby had been expecting, it certainly wasn't that one.

"But –! But –! But –!" He gathered his thoughts again. "But if you _found_ me, then... where did I come from? Why did my parents think they needed to send me here? Did they ever think to try and find me?"

Meta Knight's usual solemn demeanor returned. "I honestly wish I knew the answers to those questions, Kirby, but I have never in my life even known anyone named Reba or Kinlen. You were probably launched after I was recruited; I know that our planet was attacked a lot after I went into service, and I would like to think that sending your kid away would be a last resort. Your parents probably didn't think they would ever see you again. The Galaxy Wars were rough, and Nightmare was an enormous threat back then."

The pink puff furrowed his brow as though unsatisfied with the answer. "But... just sending me off with no plan? Not even a safe landing anywhere near a foster home?"

Meta Knight said nothing.

"Did they know _anything_ about this place before sending me here? Could they not even bother with coordinates? Or –"

"Kirby, do you realize that our home planet probably doesn't even exist anymore?"

The younger puffball's face went completely blank as the most forced silence either of them had ever experienced came upon them. For several seconds it lasted, then: "What?"

"I didn't know anything about it at the time, but I've done research since then. _Three continents_ were obliterated, Kirby. And I got that information years ago. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Your parents just wanted you out of that death trap. And Dream Land could be the closest safe haven for any number of planets. Don't think that they didn't care, Kirby; they cared very much. They might even be dead. But you were safe."

Kirby stared at him for a second, then at the ground, crestfallen, before speaking up again: "I, uh... I'm sorry. I didn't realize... yeah," he finished lamely.

"It's alright," the knight answered. "We're all lucky you were alive to defeat planetary threats before you were even adolescent. You were very much worth sparing."

Kirby smiled. "Thanks."

A brief silence passed between the two of them as they both returned their attention skyward. Meta Knight was the first to break it.

"Just out of curiosity, how did _you_ think you got here?"

Kirby seemed a bit surprised at the question. "Oh... I don't know. But... nah, it's silly."

"What? Come on, try me," the older warrior asked, turning to him. "I won't laugh."

"Well... you were kinda always doing things for me, and... I sorta started thinking of _you_ as my dad."

It was Meta Knight's turn for a completely blank expression, though Kirby couldn't see it under the mask. He stared at the younger puffball in shock for a few seconds before forcing himself to look back at the stars as though embarrassed.

"I know," Kirby began, "it's ridiculous. I –"

"Kirby."

There was a pause.

"I am astounded that you would think something like that." He turned, and Kirby brightened up, apparently simply sensing Meta Knight's smile underneath his mask. "Thank you. You're a good kid."

Not only did Kirby positively beam at hearing this, he lunged forward and grabbed his older friend, burying his face in his side as best he could for being taller than Meta Knight. The latter was surprised for a second before he returned the hug, chuckling somewhat as he did so.

"Haven't had a hug like this since you were a baby," he told him. Kirby giggled in response before relinquishing his hold. The two of them then looked back up at the stars in much brighter spirits than they were earlier, Kirby keeping his hands folded behind his head. There was silence for a few seconds, which was broken again, this time by the younger warrior.

"Wait." Meta Knight turned back to him. Kirby continued, "Weren't you down at the Woods for hours?"

The knight blinked, then nodded. "Yeah," he answered.

"How did you explain that to the others when you got back?"

Meta Knight paused, thinking, then replied: "I told them I was in the wrong end of the Woods and had to be rescued by Waddle Dees."

The younger puffball blinked several times and said nothing for a full ten seconds. Then, without warning, he burst out laughing.

"Oh, I _bet_ they bought _that!_" he managed to say while doing so.

Meta Knight grinned at Kirby underneath his mask. He really was a good kid.

**The End**

* * *

><p><strong>[AN: _Annnd_ done! Finally. Took long enough, didn't it? Also, because the epilogue was originally so fluffy it made me want to gag, I had to revise this in a few places to make it less vomit-inducing. Seems alright now, though.**

**And yes, I'm saying Kirby is the Nintendo equivalent of Superman. Accept this.**

**As for why I wanted to write this, I got a rolling train of thought: I hopped off the "Meta Knight is Kirby's father" bandwagon a while ago, mostly because of the introduction of Galacta Knight. Not for the reason you're probably thinking of, though; rather, I just thought it was ridiculous for every Galacta topic I came across to ba saying things like "KIRBY FROM THE FUTURE" and "META KNIGHT'S FATHER" and "KIRBY'S FATHER" and all that. I rejected all this because they didn't _all_ have to be related, but then I thought about my stance on Kirby and Meta Knight's relationship. Currently, I realize that there is hardly anything fatherly about the way Meta Knight treats Kirby in the games. (The anime, maybe, but I personally prefer the games, not that I don't like the anime.) Meta Knight is occasionally antagonistic, and sometimes just more of a friend. I no longer see him as a paternal candidate.**

**Between then and now, though, I felt like I had to explain a bit about the relationship that they _do_ have. I thereby propose the alternate theory that you have just finished reading.**

**I don't know about you, but I can buy Kirby being raised by Waddle Dees.**

**I guess that about wraps up my debut, then. Big thanks to all two of my reviewers for liking the story enough to say something about it! Also, the next thing I post probably won't be Kirby related. Maybe I'll type up one of my Phineas and Ferb oneshots, whip up something Banjo-Kazooie related, or get cracking on my Donkey Kong Country magnum opus. I do have a couple of Kirby oneshots in mind, though. So don't be surprised if something _does_ pop up later. Talk at you later!**

**Love,  
>-KK]<strong>


End file.
